Amends
by CrystalTongues
Summary: Anakin is a Force Ghost and continues to help train Jedi and serve on the Ghost Force Jedi Council. He has lived this way for many years with his children, but one day another family member comes back from the Force...
1. Chapter 1

"Well, I just think that if we released all the Sith holocrons to the public, everyone would learn the difference between fighting with hate and fighting with love. Maybe even some of the techniques can be used without hate!" Anakin looked at his old master, but was just met with tired frustration.

"Anakin, a ghost you may be, but no less perturbing. Perhaps you should go back to your family for the day."

"Fine, I'm sure that they will appreciate my ideas much more than this council of old ghosts. May the force be with you."

"May the force be with you. You always need it, young one." He laughed softly and bowed.

"I think you are mistaken at who is in need of the force. I became a ghost with no formal training, you are blessed with my very presence!" His laugh echoed in the small room. "I shall take my leave, before you have a chance to give me your comeback. Farewell, Obi-wan."

Anakin crossed his arms and closed his eyes, willing the force to transport him to Luke's home. While he no longer slept, he preferred to spend the nights around his children. All of the years he spent under the Emperor's control, he failed to protect them. The people who could never rid him of their trust, that could never dull the love in his heart; his redemption. The nightly patrols could never make up for the loss he felt and the pain he caused them.

Their home was quaint and decorated minimally. It was the only home for a hundred parsecs-no better place for Anakin's family to live. It was quiet and safe which provided the perfect place for them to rest between missions and to train with each other and Ani.

As he always did, the Jedi scanned the outside of the home for any signs of trouble. He could feel Luke and Leia were inside, but he could also feel that someone else was here...

He was startled and sent out a wave of force energy, the rocks near where he appeared shattered into dust. The trees cracked in fragmented pieces. He heard her. The laugh of the most beautiful woman. She was here, somehow she had learned to become like him. He had willed her back. Or maybe ...Yoda, Luke... someone had found her for him. The charm she had given him felt almost real in his hand, the smell of her so close to him that day. He dared not speak, nor move. What if he scared her off? She had appeared to him in visions and nightmares every waking second up until his death. Her voice was always angry, accusing, she would scream at him for hours on end. Finally, exhausted, the screams would turn into sobs. There was nothing Anakin could do for her but watch her slowly fade away. Her eyes seemed to follow him everywhere, to pierce through his hideous suit and charred flesh to his heart on the day that he turned. That day kept him in eternal pain. It came as a shock to him now, to be reliving that day and every nightmare at once. The pain pushed him forward to her voice, her laugh, the smile he would for...and kill for.

"Hey dad, what's going on?"

The Jedi ignored his son and burst into the next room.

His daughter was sitting in the corner of the room."Hello, father. I'm staying with..."

She continued to speak, but Anakin felt and heard nothing. He had heard her, his wife. His wide eyes met Leia's concerned ones.

The Force surged throughout the room and it startled Leia to her feet.

"Dad! What's wrong? What has happened?" She reached out to him for a moment, but forgot that she was not able to touch her father.

He shook his head slowly as he transported himself away from all of it. He transported himself to a beach on Naboo. Through all these empty years, he had never revisited the place of their wedding. The soft waves lapped against the sand.

"I don't like sand." Ani looked down blankly at the ground. Perhaps if he stared hard enough, she would materialize out of the sand and listen to him. Maybe she could still love a small part of him. He closed his eyes and slowly turned around to face the balcony he had been married on. He was truly redeemed by his children, but he would never fill the hole that she had left. That he had carved out. Decades of avoiding what had happened, of playing the victim to everyone around him, lying to himself and to his visions of her were over. Here, on the sands of Naboo, he would face her and his past. Without healing, he would never be able to really teach his children, and eventually grandchildren, of the power of the Force. A deep breathe in, a hard sigh out.

Anakin opened his eyes slowly.

"Padme."


	2. Chapter 2

She was there before him, a pillar of strength. Her soft, brown hair was worn down and wavy. Her eyes were steady and unreadable. A soft light surrounded her, though this did not surprise Anakin. He had always pictured her as an angel; beautiful and immortal. His hand instinctively went to his heart. If he did not touch his chest he would surely dissipate from anguish. This was the moment he hoped for and dreaded for years. This was the first time she had appeared to him as she once was. In his terrible nightmarish visions she was a dark and angry presence, but now she seemed calm. He could hardly believe that here, where they made an eternal promise to each other, is where they would make amends. Anakin had no idea what to say or how to say it, or if she even felt anything for him at all besides contempt. All of the things he had done could have just been a dream, perhaps he had just imagined becoming a Sith Lord. It seemed surreal and far away. Did she feel as he did or did she want revenge?

Padme broke the silence "Anakin Skywalker." It was not a question or a greeting.

A dark smoke swelled up around Anakin and inside of it he saw everything connected to his name. His mother who had named him. She reached out for him from the smoke. His Master scolding him with his full name when he disobeyed direct orders. His enemies when they wanted to intimate him. They all reached towards him in a terrifying display. Though Ani opened his mouth to scream, he found that no sound would come out. He was frozen in place and terrified.

Padme dismissed the smoke with a wave of her hand.

Anakin doubled over, holding his stomach.

Padme stood before him, unfaltering. "The Chosen One."

Again the smoke engulfed him with images of his past. Qui-Gon who never lost faith in Anakin. Yoda and Mace Windu, who always doubted the legend. Ahsoka, who followed her Master without question because she believed the legend. Obi-Wan, who loved him, did nothing but scream.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Anakin's voice cried out, broken and alone.

Once again she waved her hand and the smoke dissapeared. Anakin fell to his knees and looked up to meet her eyes.

"The Hero with No Fear"

This time in the smoke he saw battles that were waged long ago. He saw himself with his allies by his side in battle, he saw those who would critique his rash maneuvers, he saw those who died as a result of his decisions in battle. He had no fear, he always survived, but those around him sometimes perished. At what cost had he earned this name? The daring strategies and sarcastic remarks as he fought his enemies had transformed when he turned to the dark side. This name had been lost to him for so long...

Again she waved her hand, again the smoke disappeared, and again Anakin wished she would stop this. Padme took no heed to his desperate look. "Skyguy."

As she started to say it, Anakin rushed towards her.

"No, I can't bear that name. Please, don't."

The smoke showed him Ahsoka when she was first assigned to be his Padawan. She was so young and so small, yet there was not a weak bone in her body. She was fearless and ready for anything that would happen. Her stance was cocky and she ate up everything he had to say. Admiration. Then, beside her, a slightly older Ahsoka appeared. Her devotion to Anakin was clear and she never doubted him. She had begun to argue with anyone who had anything bad to say about her Master, which had gotten her into trouble quite a few times. This Ahsoka coul not imagine that her Skyguy would ever make a bad choice or do anything wrong. To her right, an older and confused Ahsoka appeared. This one had been on many missions and was even skilled enough to wield two lightsabers. She had learned that Anakin often challenged the council and the Jedi ways. She had learned to be rash, to use some anger, to disobey orders. But most of all, she was starting to learn that Anakin could not always be trusted. Her head dropped into her hands.

Anakin's mouth dropped open in horror as he watched the evolution of his former Padawan. He had cared for her as deeply as anyone else. Yet he hurt her far more than it should be possible to hurt any person. He was unable to think or process what he was seeing and his emotions took hold of him.

Another Ahsoka was there now, one who was almost to the end of her training. She had all the qualties a Jedi would need to succeed. She was brave, selfless, and committed to democracy. A proponent of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. She glared at Anakain. A word escaped her lips "Betrayed."

"Snips, no. I didn't..."

"You did!" All of the Ahsoka's melded together to form one that was meteres high and towered above Anakin. She was the Ahsoka that was left in the aftermath of Darth Vader.

"You betrayed all of us. I dreamed of saving the republic with you. You killed me."Her voice echoed and boomed. She scowled down at him. Ahsoka raised her hand to point at him.

"You did this."

With a wave of her hand, Ahsoka was gone.

"Ani."

Now she showed him his childhood. His mother called him Ani and held him. She told him stories to keep him happy through his slavery. Padme, when they first met, called him Ani. She said it so lightly, so happily. The childhood nickname followed him into adulthood. Padme called him this often in private. The smokey scenes tore at his heart.

Padme waived her hand. She continued to ignore Anakin's cries of pain from facing his past.

"Father"

This time it was not a smoke, but a silky fog. He witness his children being born and given to their adoptive parents side by side. He watched as they grew older and began to question who their parents were. He saw Luke playing with toy ships. He saw Leia pretending to be a queen. The destruction of Alderaan. His confrontation with Luke. He felt the warmth that Luke was in the Force, the warmth of two suns that redeemed him. Leia's ferocious explosion when she realized he was her father, and he was a Jedi. All of the moments he missed, all of the moments that could have been.

Nothing but sorrow was left now, but there was one name left:

"Darth Vader."

Blacker than any of the other names, all of his demons appeared in the smoke at once. It was just like the visions he would have of Padme while he was the Sith Lord. Everyone who died, who was hurt, who had ever admired him-they were all broken. Screams worse than any banshee, arms grabbing at his translucent form. He wanted to leave, to run, just like he had done since it happened.

"If you use the Force to run away from them, how will you find peace?" Padme came forward through the smoke, she stopped just a few inched away from him. Her eyes were galaxies that he could not turn away from. The smoke closed in, the screams got louder, the hands got closer. All of the chances he had to turn back to the light, to guard his heart, were shown to him. Anakin went numb and could no longer bare to watch his soiled past fly before him, to see those he loved suffer again and again. His form dispersed back into the force, leaving Padme by the shores on Naboo.

She quickly rid the area of the visions and closed her eyes.

"I am not that this went according to plan."


	3. Chapter 3

When Anakin took his ghost form again he called a meeting with the Ghost Force Council. He reached out through the force to find Yoda, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan.

"Something terrible has happened." Ani called out through the Force, "Meet me in the meditation chambers in Luke's house."

Ani went directly to the chambers and waited there for his friends. The wait was agonizing for him, though it barely took 20 minutes for them to all arrive. He need answers and he needed them fast.

They sat, cross legged, in a small circle on the floor.

"Now, Anakin, mind telling us what is going on? The twins told us you ran off a few days ago." Obi-wan, who still cared deeply for his former Padawan, spoke first. Each of them looked at Anakin with expressions of worry. Anakin folded his hands and looked at his lap.

"I..." No words came to him. He ran a hand through his hair to stall.

"It was..."

"Is someone hurt?" Qui-gon asked

Ani lifted his head up slowly and found Qui-gon's eyes. "Yes...all of you. The whole galaxy. I hurt...everyone."

Yoda and Obi exchanged looks, but Qui did not break away from Anakin's stare.

"Sometimes the part we imagine ourselves playing is quite different from what actually transpires." Qui-Gon's voice was smooth and steady

"Right Master Qui-Gon is. To blame for your own choices, you are, but deceived we all were."

"I saw her, Masters. My..." It was too much to understand, and much too hard to form the words.

His former Master reached out with the force and calmed his soul. "We know, Anakin, it's okay to say it." This was one of the few times Ani was grateful that he did not have a physical body because if he did, he would be crying. Crying was a sensation he did not miss.

"My wife. Padme. She has come back to us. How could this be?" He stood up and began to pace around the room. "Was it one of you?" His gestures became agitated "I thought that it was impossible unless the you were a force sensitive." His eyes skipped back and forth between the 3 of them and then he finally sighed and dropped his hands to his sides. Slowly he made his way back to his spot in the circle and sat down.

Obi stroked his beard "Anakin, none of us have anything to do with this, nor were we aware of her presence. Master Yoda, do you suppose this is some kind of a Sith trick?"

"Impossible to detect the dark side is. Know of a power like this I do not. Advanced hologram technology could it be, Master Skywalker?"

Anakin looked helplessly at the Jedi Masters. "No, I don't believe so. She um."

"Troubled you are, Skywalker. Let go you must. I-" Qui-Gon stood up

"Master Yoda, with all due respect, Skywalker does not need a lecture. Look at him. He did not have a happy reunion with his wife. Please, Anakin, feel free to share the rest of the story." Yoda was clearly disgruntled by the interruption, but stayed quiet.

"Thank you. Well she...did not even speak to me. She said all of the names I have been called. With each name she made a nightmare of smoke appear in front of me. Ask me for no more details, Masters. I don't want to talk about it. I just want answers."

"Anakin, I'm so sorry." Obi said

They were all silent for a few moments, lost deep in thought. Anakin became overwhelmed, though.

"So none of you have any idea what this could be?"

No one answered.

"Is this possible?"

"Well it must be because you saw her."

"But Qui-Gon how can I be sure it was really her?"

"Well, what made you doubt her?"

Anakin stopped to think a moment. What was it that made him doubt her legitimacy? The Padme he knew had been kind and gentle to him. She was beautiful and a great speaker. She was never afraid to stand up for her ideals or to take a stand against someone who challenged those ideals, even when that person was him. But one thing Padme had never been was vengeful.

"She was, well, mean."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Mean? Anakin she is only a human."

"Yes but even when she was angry with me...I never once felt her like this."

"Hmm" Yoda said "Help you solve this mystery we will."

"Yes, Anakin, we will help you. We will all keep an eye out for her. Perhaps she will come say hello to us. Or the children. Have you spoken to them yet?" Obi-Wan said.

Anakin groaned "I haven't yet. I felt too ashamed. What am I supposed to say? 'Guess what kids! Your mother is back and she tortured me with me past. Huzzah!' Yeah, that would go over well!." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"You should speak with them, Anakin. It is possible they have the answers you seek." Anakin turned to Qui-Gon. Ani's expression softened-he had a lot of respect for the Jedi.

"I guess I will, if you think it will be of so much help, Qui-Gon."

Qui-Gon bowed. "If that is all, I really must be off." Qui-Gon disappeared.

"Actually, I was busy when you signaled me so I must depart." Obi-Wan bowed, too.

Anakin returned the bows. "Thank you." Obi-Wan smiled.

"Anytime, old friend. Goodbye."

Now only Yoda was left. "Busy I was not. Stay and meditate I will, if okay with you it is?"

"Sure, Master Yoda. Just try to keep it down, huh?"

"Oh ho, I shall." Yoda smiled at the joke.

Ani turned around and tried to center himself. This conversation was going to be hard. Though he had spoken with the twins about his past, he had never gone into more detail than he had to. He knew that the other Jedi Masters told them more, and lots of data was available in the computers. No need for him to drudge up old scars. But now to get answers, it would seem he had to. He stepped out of the meditation chambers and followed the Force to Luke's location just a few meters away from the house.

Luke was practicing lifting things with the Force. It was one of his favorite abilities because it was one of the most challenging for him to learn. His son was carefully balancing several boulders, a few trees, and some logs in the air. Though he was deep in concentration, he did not fail to sense his Father. Without turning around he said "Hello, Father."

Despite all of the terrible events, his children did not fail to make him smile.

"Hello, son. Need some help with all that?"

Luke laughed and gently lowered it all to the ground. "What makes you think I need help?"

Their banter was effortless and comforting to them both. After missing out on so much in their lives it was good to have this.

"So, did you want something or did you just come here to make my training harder?"

"Actually, where is Leia? I have something I need to talk to you two about."

"Er, well. She left on a mission with Han and Chewie." Luke fidgeted a bit. Anakin and Leia had fought over her going on missions. Though he trusted Han and Chewie, he was still protective of his daughter. She reminded him of Padme, and to a lesser extent, Ahsoka. He saw Leia go through a lot of the problems that Ahsoka had while she was in training, and he helped her solve them. But it was hard to think about losing her again. Ani tried to convince her to wait for him to go with her, or to take her brother with her, or even take a padawan! But she was insistent that she would be fine because she had out maneuvered her own father before, hadn't she? Since Anakin couldn't really argue that point, the arguments usually ended there.

"Oh." Anakin paused. Should he go after Leia, or just speak to his son?

"Do you want me to try and contact her for you?" Luke asked

"That's alright, Luke. I'll talk to her later."

"Want to go for a walk?" One thing the two of them had in common was the preference to do something while they discussed serious matters. Luke could sense something big was coming. They walked side by side through the forest. Anakin kept his eyes straight ahead as he explained what happened with Padme. He told Luke no more than what he had told the council members.

"Luke, I left so quickly because I heard your mother's laugh. I followed it to Naboo. She was there, but I still don't know if it was really her. Has she appeared before you? Or Leia?"

Luke turned to look at his father, but Anakin did not look back. "No. I didn't even hear anything that day." He paused. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"No. She used some sort of trick to show me visions of my past. Visions connected to the names that I have been called. I left before she was done."

"Oh." Luke though for a moment. "Do you suppose it is really her? Can you sense her?"

"I hoped you would have that answer. I can't. I don't sense anything."

Anakin stopped and turned to his son. "Just tell me if you find out anything, okay? Be on your guard."

"Of course, father."

They made their way back to the house. Luke resumed his training session and Anakin went to the meditation chambers. No one else was there. For the first time since his son had saved him, he felt alone.


	4. Chapter 4

"Father?" Luke reached out to Anakin through the force. The last time anyone had heard from Anakin was the day he told everyone about Padme, and that was a few weeks ago. Something felt desperately wrong and Luke knew it was important to be with his father. Luke didn't feel his father near by so he searched deeper in the galaxy. Luke began to get nervous. The disturbance was getting stronger, and still his father was no where to be seen.

"If you can sense me, please answer. Something is wrong." It took an great amount of skill to direct this message through the force, but his anxiety was growing stronger with each second.

"Leia." A woman's voice said. Luke jumped up drew his lightsaber as a reflex. He turned and scanned the room to find Anakin standing behind him.

"Luke! Where is your sister?"

"She's still on a mission. More importantly, did you hear that? It was a woman's voice she sai-"

"Your mother. That voice was her."

"She said Leia! We have to go find her. I'll try to reach her, you fire up the ship, R2?" Luke was frantic. Did his mother return just to save his sister?

"Luke, what if you don't really like what you see?"

"Uh, what?"

"She wasn't exactly welcoming to me. What if she...isn't herself? You could get hurt."

"I am going no matter what. If you want to go back into the Force, fine." Luke snapped back. He would not miss this chance to meet his mother, no matter how she acted.

"Fine. I'll locate Leia for you. See you there."

* * *

"See you."  
Luke switched on his holoprojector and set it for The Milenium Falcon. C-3p0 answered "Why, hello Luke."  
"Hello, Threepio. Look, have you heard from Leia? Is anyone there?"  
"I'm afraid not, Luke. Is something the matter?"  
"Yeah, we think she might be in danger."  
"Oh my. Well I will try to reach her on the comlink."  
"Great, thanks threepio. Let us know as soon as you find anything."  
"Of course, Luke. I do hope she is alright."  
Luke switched off the holoprojector. He hoped so, too.

The dank ruins of Coruscant still harbored hundreds of criminals, and one of those criminals was rumored to have Jedi artifacts. The source of this intel neglected to reveal what the artifact was, but she promised it would be worth the effort to retrieve it. Leia, Han, and Chewie still enjoyed a mission or two, especially if it could involve recovering a piece of Jedi history. Leia was eager to train both herself and others in the Force. She hoped this artifact would be an important piece of that training.

But so far, their mission had only turned up empty leads. They split up after the first 6 leads were duds. Han figured that they could cover twice the dead ends and get home faster this way.

With the Force as her guide, Leia made her way through the mucky streets. It was certain that the artifact was here. She could feel it.

She was so tuned into her mission and to the Force trace of the artifact that she did not hear the bounty hunter behind her. The Twi'lek bounty hunter smiled crept up behind Leia and drew her electrostaff. The hunter heard the rumors that daughter of Skywalker was seeking the artifacts her team had recovered. Though the Twi'lek was only feet behind her, Leia still did not sense her presence.

A soft voice spoke to Leia "Do not be overtaken by your foes because you forgot to look around you."

Leia sprung into action. She drew her white lightsaber and jumped toward the Twi'lek. In one swift move she burned the hunter's hand to knock the staff on the ground a few meters away. Leia held her saber to the woman's throat. As she backed the Twi'lek against a wall in the alleyway, a voice spoke again. "Snipers."

Using the Force, Leia pinned the hunter against the wall and deflected the shot from the sniper at the same time. She readjusted her angle to deflect the second shot back at the sniper, killing him instantly.

"Who are you?" She turned back to the Twi'lek who was still pinned against the wall.

"And why should I tell you?" She hissed

"I am a Jedi." Leia squinted and grinned slightly

"I am Sustul. But I will not reveal what you want to know."

 _Beep._

Leia pressed her comlink.

"I'm close! I'll send you my coordinates."

Han answered "Well, that's great sweetheart, but Luke and Anakin have arrived. They tried to reach you earlier, but you weren't answering."

"I guess I didn't hear them over the fighting." She admitted

"They think you could be in danger."

Leia thought for a moment before answering. "Well, what makes you think that? I took down the sniper. I just have one Twi'lek captive."

"Well...according to them they heard some kind of weird ghost of your mother."

"I know." Leia wasn't phased by the news-she had known her mother's presence immediately.

Luke took over the com channel "You what?! You saw her?"

"No, but she spoke to me. She saved my life just now. I recognized her from the few memories I have of her before she died. It just felt like her. Do you know what I mean?" she explained

"Well, yeah. That's how I felt when I learned you were my sister."

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but shouldn't get get going? Leia, your location is secure, right?" Han asked

"Yes." She answered

"Hold on tight, we will be right there."

A soft _beep_ was emitted from the comlink when Leia switched it off.

"Family troubles?" A shiver went down Leia's spine. Sustul sounded sure of herself, like she knew something. Leia took a breath to compose herself before answering.

"My family is just fine, thank you. I think your family is the one who will be troubled."

Sustul laughed. "We will see, Jedi."

After carefully scanning the area for more enemies Leia replied "There is nothing to see about. They will show up, you will take us to this artifact, and we will take it. Simple, really."

Sustul remained silent, but her knowing grin did not lessen. Leia stood tall and waited patiently.

The hum of 2 speeders in the distance caught her ear. Luke and Han joined her in front of Sustul.

"So, who's this?" Han asked

"This" Leia gestured "is Sustul."

"So, where is kid?" Han demanded

"I guess I have no choice, huh? Follow me then." Luke's eyes widened. He whispered to Leia

"Didn't she give up kinda easy?"

Leia leaned toward her brother "Something about this feels very wrong."

"I agree. I have a bad feeling about this."

Han gave them a look before announcing "I brought restraints!" After Leia released Sustul from the wall, Han cuffed her and then pushed her in front of him. "Let's go."

Luke and Leia fell in behind Han, but after a few minutes of walking, Leia sensed something. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Han asked

"I'll go check it out." Leia used the Force to jump onto an awning, then onto a small building, and finally onto the roof the sound came from. She used her comlink to tell Han and Luke to proceed-she could catch up with them later on. She had not been prepared for the woman she found on the roof.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you Fulcrum? You worked with the rebels during The Clone Wars. With Bail?" Leia's curious stare was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

The togruta stood abosultely still in the low Coruscant lighting. Though the two knew of each other, they had never served a mission together. Both were famous for the hand they played in the rebellion against the Empire.

"My name is not of your concern...yet." she replied.

"Are you after the artifact, too?" Leia asked, taking careful note of the lightsaber clipped on the togruta's belt.

Leia took a step forward. Something seemed off about this situation. The togruta's skin was covered in darkened cracks. Her presence in the Force was a hurricane of dark and light energy; it was something like Leia had never felt before. She would have to warn the others quickly.

"I wouldn't bother with any warning." She had sensed Leia's intentions. In a graceful arc she drew her lightsaber and cut the comlink on Leia's arm. The Jedi gasped. With the blade closer to her, she could see that this lightsaber matched her own. She slowly withdrew her own lightsaber and held it out in front of her.

"Where did you get that?" The togruta hissed.

Leia remained calm. "I found it several years ago in the Outer Rim. It called to me so I kept it."

"I created that. It's mine." Her had become a roar. Her lightsaber flashed in front of Leia in a terrifying display of power. The Jedi had a feeling that this woman would have a bigger part to play in the events, and was unsure if she could defeat her in a dual. Leia began to use Form III to show her intentions to remain peaceful and to prevent either of them from dying in this fight. The togruta recognized this move; an exasperated grunt escaped her lips. The light from their twin blades reflected in their faces with an eerie glow. The matching hum of the lightsabers was methodical. Leia would need to act quickly to get back to Han and Luke safely. She stopped her protective form and charged forward. The togruta blocked and swept her lightsaber up, just as Leia expected. Leia had noticed the woman was wearing a backpack. She ducked under the next blow and did a summersalt around to cut the back off the togruta's back A variety of bombs littered the rootop, Leia swung her lightsaber up to block another blow. Using the Force she activated all of the bombs and did a backflip to the next rooftop to safety. She ran back the way she had came, retracing the steps. It did not appear as though she was being followed, so it seemed it had worked for the time being. She was sure that she would encounter this togruta again. Lightsabers were not something anyone let go of easily.

As she reached the place where they had captured Sustul, she was happy to notice that Anakin and Obi-Wan were waiting for her.

"Hello young one." Obi-Wan greeted her. "You look like you've been through quite a tumble."

"Hello." Leia sighed. She felt conflicted about telling them the details of her battle, though she wasn't sure why. "I chased someone down, but they got away. I think we should hurry to catch up with Han and Luke." Though she was shaken, Leia was a master liar. She had plenty of time to practice her skills during the rebellion.

"What happened to your comlink?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, it got smashed while I was chasing that person down. Come on, we need to move. Do you know which way they went?" Obi-Wan and Anakin glanced at each other, but decided not to press the comlink matter further.

"Yes, we have the hideout coordinates. The sooner we get out of here, the better." Obi-Wan was uneasy about being among the rubble of Coruscant, even though he was only a Force ghost. "I'll lead the way." He said and took off at a sprint.

Anakin and Leia fell in side by side behind Obi-Wan. He turned to his daughter. "I can tell you're startled by what happened. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She looked away from his eyes.

"Hmm. I don't think that you are."

"Augh." Leia folded her arms and stared straight ahead. She could think of a good way to tell him what happened. It felt like the wrong thing to do.

The scum of the streets flew by them as they ran to their destination. They arrived to see the door had been destroyed.

"Your husband's handiwork, huh?" Obi-Wan laughed.

"Hey, you better appreciate my handiwork. It's not easy, you know." Han called from inside. "But I think we should forget the small talk cause ,guys, we found something crazy."

The hideout was well decorated. Shelves lined every wall and were full of old texts and strange looking objects. Everything teemed of Force energy. Leia looked around in wonder at all of the ancient things collected here. "But...where did you get all of this?" She looked at Sustul who was kneeling in front of something at the back of the room. Sustul ignored her.

"Leia..." Luke said. "There's something here...a holocron. A Sith holocron. The artifact wasn't Jedi. It's Sith." Luke sighed and kicked at the floor.

"What?!" Anakin and Obi-Wan exclaimed. They were still attuned to each other, even after all this time.

An echoing _click_ came from the restraints around Sustul's wrists as they dropped off. Both Luke and Leia drew their sabers, but Sustul sprinted to the wall and pressed a button. She was gone in a secret room. A laugh echoed around them.

"No!" They all turned to stare at Anakin.  
"Anakin, be still." Obi-Wan tried to comfort him, but he was not succesful.

"Surprised, master? You didn't really think Padme came back on her own, did you? Even after all these years you still aren't very good at controlling yourself." Ahsoka taunted him. She stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room.

"But how did we miss her?" Obi-Wan asked, amazed.

Ahsoka laughed again. "Oh, old Obi-Wan. There is so much about the Force you do not know. I am powerful. I can hide anywhere in plain sight. Haven't you missed me?"

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt this heart warming reniun, but what is going on here?" Han asked.

"Well, it appears that Anakin's old padawan has brought us here, brought Padme back, and is in the possession of a Sith holocron. Any more questions?" Obi-Wan answered.

"I have one: Why?" Ahsoka answered.

They all looked around the room in confusion. Finally, Obi-Wan took the bait.

"Why what, Ahsoka?"

"Well, why did you do it, my old master? Don't you know you could have run away? You could have run like I did. I could have been there with you. We could have saved the world together. But you planted a seed of darkness in me! Don't you see? This is you. You did this. The Father warned you. The Brother showed you. So, why? Why did you not listen?" She walked around the room as she spoke, her gestures dramatic yet calculated.

"Ahsoka, I-"

"No! You listen. You must listen now. You never listened before. Now, it is my turn to speak." Anakin was stunned.

"Snips?"

Ahsoka spit at him. "You lost the right to call me that when you chose not run."

Obi-wan stroked his beard and waved his hand. "Ahsoka, if you don't mind my asking, why do you have the holocron? And is that really Padme you brought back?"

A grin spread across the togruta's face. "I'm so glad you asked me. You see, I missed her. I loved Padme. She acted as a mother to me. She taught me so much. I have been searching for the secret every since I learned that he killed her. And I have finally found it! Deep within this holocron I found the answer. And so I have brought her back." Ahsoka raised a fist in the air, triumphant.

Luke, Leia, and Han moved close together. "I chased her down earlier." Leia whispered to them. "She has a lightsaber that matches the one I found."

"What's wrong with her?" Luke asked loudly. The dark cracks had been growing larger as she talked.

"I believe the holocron infected her. There is a great risk to open these artifacts, and an even greater risk to use them. I do not know if she can be saved." Obi-Wan explained.

"Auuuuh!" Ahsoka turned in a circle, taking the time to snarl at each person in the room.

"I brought her back to you! And none of you appreciate me. You should have run! We could have been like a family. You could have saved us! All of us. Traitor." Her eyes were turning red and now her whole body seemed to be turning black.

"What do you want from me?" Anakin asked his old padawan.

"I want, no WE want, an apology. You never gave us that. You have never said it. Your son may have redeemed you, but I never forgave. I never forgot. I've lived in the aftermath this whole time! And you never came to me."

Her voice was the only sound in the room. Everyone held their breath to see how Anakin would respond.

"So, what's it gonna be? Huh, _skyguy_?" The word rolled off her tongue like a dagger.

"Ahsoka, I'm-"

"That's not enough! You should kneel. All of you! Kneel." She demanded.

"Best do what she says." Obi-Wan said.

They all knelt in place.

"Ahsoka, I am sorry." She laughed at him as she turned to swing her lightsaber at his children.


	6. Chapter 6

Luke blocked Ahsoka's swing, which gave Leia a chance to charge at Ahsoka's side. Ahsoka growled and pivoted to protect herself from Leia's blow. Ahsoka fought with a fire that Luke had only seen in one other: Vader. As soon as Luke blocked an attack, Leia danced around to force Ahsoka to turn away from Luke, which left her vulnerable. This vulnerability gave Luke a split second to use the Force to disarm Ahsoka.

While they were fighting, Han took a defensive position at the door. He called Chewie on the comlink "Hey, Buddy, we are in a bit of a situation, maybe fire up the ship and have it read to go, alright?"

The intricate dance went on for 10 long minutes before Ahsoka sent a wave of Force energy out to put the twins on the floor. It did not phase Leia who lept up and sprinted to the holocron. She raised her saber with the intention to destroy the artifact. She gave Luke a knowing wink. When Ahsoka screamed and went to protect the holocron from Leia, Luke disarmed her.

"Surrender now and come peacefully. I have some questions for you, and I bet my family does, too." Luke said as he aimed his saber at her. Ahsoka looked behind her to see Leia's saber inches away from her face. Cornered, Ahsoka had one last move to try. A terrifying blast of lightening show from her hands at Luke. He raised his saber to block the lightening, but he did not have enough strength to hold his lightsbaer in one hand and Ahsoka's in the other. His mind raced back to the day when the Emporer tortured him in front of his faster. Now he saw not Ahsoka, but Darth Sidious before him. He groaned and fell to the ground in a heap. Leia screamed, but could not protect Luke or get to Ahsoka's lightsbaer in time. She had no time to check if her brother was alright because she was now locked in a battle with a ferocious warrior.

Han left his defensive position at the door to cover Luke. "Hey kid, we've been through worse, you'll be alright." Han was comforting himself as much as he was comforting Luke. He placed a hand on Luke's shoulder and turned to watch the battle playing out before them.

The matching white lightsabers were a blur as Leia focused only on blocking each swing from her opponent. She knew she was no match for this togruta in battle, but she had endurance. As long as she did not miss a block, she would survive. Leia could feel the anger from Ahsoka, and with each step she seemed to swing faster and faster. It took every ounce of strength for the Jedi to keep up and there seemed to be no end to this. She knew that if she attempted to attack, Ahsoka would use that chance to kill Leia.

"Stop this." It was Padme. She appeared at the back wall behind the holocron alter. Everyone in the room froze and looked at her.

"I wanted the chance to be here with my family. But something has gone wrong. Ahsoka, your plan has failed. I will not let you do this."

"Duck!" Obi-Wan yelled.

Leia covered her head with her hands, but Ahsoka ran forward to Padme. Han knelt over Luke's body. In a white hot flash, Padme returned to the Force. Years of work and studying were gone. Padme was gone again. Leia disarmed the stunned togruta. She grabbed the restraints that had been used on Sustul to and used them to capture Ahsoka. Though restraints like this could not hold a Force user for long, Ahsoka was defeated.

"Anakin, what was it you were saying about learning from Sith holocrons?" Obi-Wan asked

"This isn't the time, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it.

They made their way back to the Millenium Falcon where Chewie and threepio were waiting. Luke was now conscious, but in no shape to fly his own ship back.

"Leia, you fly back with Artoo and I'll take care of Luke." She nodded and hopped into Luke's ship.

The flight back was solemn and quiet. When they arrived at Luke's house, they decided to keep Ahsoka in restraints to question her.

The house was not made to keep prisoners, so they all simply gathered in the living room.

Obi-Wan went first "I suspect what happened here dates back to Mortis. There, we encountered living beings of the Force. Ahsoka was told that Anakin had infected his padawan with the Dark Side, just as he had the Dark Side in him. We all tried to forget about this, but it was there in the back of our minds. Padme and Anakin seemed to serve as a family to Ahsoka, and when that was taken away, she responded just as her former master responded to things." He walked around the room as he spoke, stroking his beard. "Ahsoka was one of the bravest warriors I have ever seen. When she found that the Sith had the power to bring people back from the Force, she assumed she could learn the power without turning into a Sith herself. She was wrong." He turned now to Anakin. "The reason I am opposed to learning from the Sith is not because I do not think some of the powers to be useful to our cause, but because I know that you can not learn from them without becoming them. With power, there is sacrifice, Anakin. And your former padawan has paid the price for her schooling."

Ahsoka looked at the floor. Now that she was away from the holocron, her body had regained some of its normal coloration. Emotions swelled up within her and tears fell silently onto the floor.

Luke spoke up "Was it really her? Our mother?"

Ahsoka glaned up at him. "Yes."

"It is not how I remembered her. You did something to her." Anakin hissed.

"She probably took in some of the dark side energy that Ahsoka was putting out. If bringing people back was so easy, don't you think I would have done it for you long ago, my old apprentice?"

"What?" Ahsoka asked

Obi-Wan knelt before her. "Padme was infected with the Dark Side, young one. It was only a twisted version of her. She is a part of the Force now, and the Force lives within us all. You were never truly without her." Great sobs came from Ahsoka.

"Did I miss any details, Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan asked her. She didn't answer him.

Leia stood up "When I first held this lightsaber, I saw things through it. A fearless fighter had used it, and yet the saber had called out to me. The memories seemed to familiar to me...almost like Luke. It felt right, like going home." Again, Ahsoka had no response.

"Can she be fixed?" Luke asked

"That" Obi-Wan answered "I do not know."

They stood around her silently, thinking. Her future was uncertain, and it would be no easy task to untangle what she had done.


End file.
